On the walk toward the main building, Gracie held Benny’s hand, and he held the leash to tug a not-so-sure Newt—don’t tell Benny—toward training camp.
“Come on, boy,” he urged gently. “We’re going to camp together!”
He sounded so excited, her heart felt like it was folding in half. Benny needed a friend so badly and not just one with four legs.
He only had Red, his octogenarian great-grandfather. No friends, and no real father figure, she reminded herself for the guilt-ridden zillionth time.
“Hey,” she said, holding the door with her boot while Benny managed the leash. “There will be lots of kids.”
“I know.”
“You can make friends.”
“Don’t need them,” he said without hesitation. “I have Sir Isaac Newton.” He slid her a look from behind his glasses, and then looked away, squaring his tiny shoulders as if to say, “Let me do it my way.”
Yes, she was a famously overprotective mother, but she was alone in this journey and Benny was her whole world. Was that why he didn’t make friends?
No, he simply liked his own company over anyone else’s.
The front lobby of Canine Canyon was clean and bright, with the lingering scent of oatmeal shampoo. A chalkboard on one wall listedToday’s Camp Schedulewith hand-drawn paw prints walking between time slots.
A Christmas tree twinkled in the corner—small, with paper ornaments cut in the shapes of dog bones and snowflakes.
At the reception counter, a woman in a red fleece vest looked up from a tablet and smiled.
“Paws & Pals? Welcome!” Her gaze dropped to the dog. “And who is this handsome gentleman?”
“Sir Isaac Newton,” Benny said, adjusting the leash like he’d practiced in the house last night.
“Oooh.” She half laughed and looked at Gracie. “We’ve got royalty in the house.”
Gracie smiled and looked down at Benny, who wasn’t sure how to respond.
“And you are…”
“Benedict McBride,” he said, the use of his full first name touching Gracie in ways she couldn’t explain. “You can call me Benny.”
“Hi, Benny. I’m Renee.” She slid two laminated name tags across the counter—one for a human, one for a dog’s collar—and a clipboard she gave to Gracie to complete. “First day is always a little noisy. Organized chaos. We get to the organized part by the end of the week, I promise.”
The door opened behind them, ushering in a chilly blast of air and a father-daughter duo led by a gorgeous brindle dog with arresting blue eyes.
“Kat! Stop and heel, please.” The little girl, who looked to be about Benny’s age, shot the command with authority.
“Did she saycat?” Benny whispered, fighting a laugh.
The girl fired a look at Benny as she pulled a treat out of her pocket and gave it to her dog with praise.
“It’s Kat with a K,” she said, flipping one of many beautiful braids over her shoulder. “She’s named for Katherine Johnson.”
Benny stood a little straighter. “My dog’s named Sir Isaac Newton, a famous physicist. Who’s Katherine Johnson?”
“Never heard of Katherine Johnson?” Her brows shot up, espresso eyes flashing with disbelief. “Then maybe you need to read a little more.”
Benny’s jaw dropped. “I read a hundred books in the Scholastic Book Challenge last year.”
“But you didn’t readHidden FiguresorCounting the Stars, or you would know that Katherine Johnson was the first Black woman NASA mathematician whose critical calculations helped ensure the success of the Mercury-Atlas 6 orbit around the Earth.”
Whoa. Gracie took a step backward and bumped right into the child’s father, a tall and broad-chested man who sidestepped gracefully.
